The Sturt Highway in NSW is a major east-west through the Murray-Riverina region. As a whole, the Sturt Hwy forms the Sydney-Adelaide National Highway link and carries the NH20 shield throughout NSW, while the Victorian and SA sections now carry the A20 designation. Before 1998, NH20 used to extend all the way from the Hume Hwy to Adelaide along the Sturt Hwy but the introduction of alpha-numeric numbering in Victoria and South Australia means that NH20 now only exists in NSW. Within NSW it remains largely unchanged from its original alignment.

Having travelled the length of the Sturt Hwy in NSW i can assure you that it is of the highest quality, with only a few narrow sections across the Hay Plains. 110km/h conditions are encountered west of Hay.

Im 1928, at the dawn of road classification in NSW, the Sturt Hwy as whole did not exist. Parts of the current route existed, the Hume Hwy to Wagga Wagga section was part of State Highway 4 (Snowy Mtns Hwy) and the Balranald to Buronga section was part of State Highway 6 (Mid Western Hwy) which extended west to the SA border near Renmark, a route which the Sturt Hwy would later traverse. In 1929, the Wagga Wagga to 58km W of Hay section was proclaimed Trunk Road 58 and named Sturt Trunk Road in 1930. The remaining section fo the current route from Hay to Balranald did not exist.

A major overhaul came in August 1933 when all these parts were proclaimed State Highway 14, from Hume Hwy to the SA Border near Renmark. This newly proclaimed highway was named Sturt Highway after Captain Charles Sturt who explored the area in 1829 and opened it up for agriculture. In 1939, the Sturt Hwy was truncated at Buronga and the Buronga-Wentworth section reclassified as Main Road 69 (later Silver City Hwy) and the Wentworth-SA section reclassified as MR68. This rationalisation took place so that the Sturt Highway name would apply to the shortest and highest standard route between Sydney and Adelaide.

In 1938, the Sturt Highway was completely reconstructed between the Hume Hwy and Balranald to bring it up to rural highway standards. In 1955, the Sturt Highway was rewarded with the National Route 20 shield as one of the first 5 National Routes to be signposted. Completion of a bitumen surface along its entire NSW length was achieved in 1962, following the completion of a major reconstruction programme. Since then, the only major upgrade has been the Guys Hill Deviation (22-29km W of Hume Hwy), which opened to traffic in November 1975.

In 1992, the Sturt Highway was proclaimed a National Highway, forming the Sydney-Adelaide Link. The black and white shield was subsequently replaced with the green & gold shield. NH20 only remained an interstate route for a few years, as in 1999 Victoria rebadged their section as the A20 with SA following suit in 2001. Remnants of the pre-alpha numeric shields can still be found, albeit in decreasing numbers.

The Sturt Highway through Wagga Wagga has had a recent signage upgrade (2003/2004) and with it came these unusual AD signs. Whats unusual about them is that they don't include proper focal points for the Sturt Hwy (eg. Narrandera) but rather just "Hospital" or some other service. I'm not sure I agree with it, I would like to see Narrandera and NH20 on this sign as well. Feb 2006.

Looking east under the Main Southern Railway line near Tarcutta Street. This was once a level crossing (until 1976) and you can clearly see how the Sturt Hwy has been lowered beneath the railway line. Jan 2005.

Another of the AD signs without mention of NH20, Sturt Hwy or Narrandera. This one is located at Edmondson St. Feb 2006.

Distance sign heading west from Olympic Highway along the NH20/NR41 duplex. Note the use of both highway names, good for navigational purposes (despite the fact this section is only part of Sturt Highway by legal definition). Feb 2006.

Similar style distance sign, this time heading east from Olympic Hwy along the NH20/NR41 duplex. Feb 2006.

ID sign assembly at the western junction with Olympic Highway. Jan 2004.

Distance sign heading west from Olympic Highway. Feb 2006.

Distance sign heading east from Collingullie. Jan 2005.

Distance sign heading west from Collingullie. This is poor signposting, as the focal points mentioned on the previous distance sign are not followed up on this one. Whatever happened to consistency? Jan 2004.

Westbound AD sign for the Coolamon turnoff, 2km west of Collingullie. Jan 2004.

One of the several signs warning motorists not to bring fruit into the fruit fly exclusion zone - westbound near Galore. Jan 2004.

Rare dual-highway name signage at the eastern junction with Sturt Hwy at Gillenbah. Until January 1993, this 500m section of road was classified as part of State Highway No. 14 (Sturt Hwy) but is now part of State Highway No. 17 (Newell Hwy). Sensibly, this sign shows both highway names so that travellers looking for the Sturt Hwy don't get confused when they see only the Newell Hwy name. Jan 2004.

RTA maintenance marker which looks awfully like a National Route shield - you would think they could have chosen a different shape sign! Midway between Carrathool turnoff and Hay. Jan 2004.

AD sign informing motorists to follow NH20 route markers to reach Adelaide. The RTA usually uses these signs when there is a complex urban area ahead, and where it may not be practical to include "Adelaide" on every directional sign. In this case, it is only a roundabout :-s Jan 2004.

Eastbound AD sign approaching the roundabout junction with Cobb Highway at South Hay. Mid Western Highway begins a short distance into town, hence its mention on this sign. Jan 2004.

Another silly-looking maintenance marker, this time between Hay and Balranald. Jan 2004.

The last of the silly-looking maintenance markers between Hay and Balranald. Jan 2004.

NH20 trailblazer, a rarity in NSW, between Euston and Buronga. Photo taken January 2004.

Oh look! another one! this time heading west near Trentham Cliffs. Photo taken January 2004.

Westbound AD sign approaching the junction with Silver City Highway at Buronga. Note the signposting of NR79 - which should cross the border into Victoria via Abbottsford Bridge at Curlwaa. Perhaps this is a deliberate ploy by the RTA to connect NR79 with another National Route since the Victorian leg of NR79 became A79 in 1998. Jan 2004.

Eastbound AD sign for the junction with Silver City Highway at Buronga. Jan 2004.

Looking east from Victoria to the Murray River (George Chaffey Bridge) and NSW Border. Jan 2004.